Wheel



M. VAN METER'.

` WHEEL De. u 1923. 1,476,780

Filed Aug.' 22. 1921 Jij/l.

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Patented Dec. `11, 1.923.

UNITED STATES MoR'roN VAN METER, or CADILLAC, MICHIGAN.

y, WHEEL. i

Application filed August 22, A19271?".rlerial No. 494,364.

TaaZZ fwiom t may concern: l Be it known that I, MOnroN VAN METER, acitizen of the United States, residing at llbadillac, in the county oflVexfo-rd and State of.Michigan, have invnted new and usefulImprovements in .Vi/heels, of which the following is a specification. i

The present invention relates to wheels, particularly such as have wireor tension spokes; and its object is to provide a wheel which shallpossess suiiicient rigidity to withstand injury from thrusts exerted inits axial direction, and whose spokesshall be nevertheless protectedfrom contact with such objects as street curbs and the like.

In prior wheels of this character', it has beennecessary to incline thespokes which resist axial thrusts at such an acute angle to the' wheelsaxis that their inner portions4 adjacent the hub must extendv beyond theouter edge of the rim or felloe of the wheel and are thus exposed toinjury from striking'y street curbs and the like.V

My present invention obviates this difficulty for although my'wheel isrigid enough to withstand deforming axial thrusts, its spokes are whollybetween the planes in which lie the edges of the wheels circumferentialmember, i. e. its rim, felloe or tire.

My object is attained by, andthe invention inds preferable embodimentin, the structure hereinafter particularly described in the body of thisspecification'and illustrated byl the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view of a portion of a wheel,

the upper part thereof being sectioned on a radial plane; and l j Figure2 is a View of a portion of the outer side of said wheel, a part of thecentral member and a. part of the circumferential member thereof beingshown in section` In the views, the wheel has a central memberldesignated generally 1 which in the particular construction illustratedcomprises the usual hubportion 2 and a surrounding spoke-carryingportion 3 detachably connected to the-hub portion as by the threadedbolts 4, and also has the circumferential member 5, in the constructionillustrated being the rim of any usual form adapted to carry a pneumatictire. These members 1 and 5 are connected by'wire or tension spokes,whichin 4the illustrated construction are -comprised in four sets, viz:a set of spokes 6 extending` between said members and lying at one. sideof the plane indicated the circumferential member 'perpendicular to thewheelsaxis; another set of spokes 8 at the opposite side of said plane,these two sets being the spokes which principally support the centralmember 1; another set of spokes 9 extending between said members in adirection considerably-inclined to the wheels axis; and another set ofspokes 10 extendin between said members in a direction simi arlyinclined, bu-t oppositely from the last mentioned sets, to the whcelsaxis, the last two sets of spokes being those which principally resistaxial thrusts.

All the spokes are Awholly between the pla-nes in which lie the oppositeedgesl 11 and 12 respectively of the circumferential member 5l and arethus protected from contact with objects outside such planes. y The setof spokes 9 and the set'of spokes 10 intersect the common plane.7 which,as stated, is preferably the .central plane of the circumferentialmember.

By increasing the diameter of the cen! trai member 1 relatively to thediameter of the circumferential member 5, the length of the spokes isshortened. and they may there fore be inclined at a more acute angle tothe wheels axis (thus adding to their axial thrust-resisting effect) andwill still be within the planesl `of the circumferential members edges1l and l2. The diameter of'thc'central kmember 1 may be thus increasedby providing in addition to the usual hub portion 2 of any wheel, thedetachable surrounding. portion 3 on which the inner ends of the spokesare carried. By so doing, a double purpose is served; a wheel isprovided having a. circumferential tire carrying member which may bedetached from the usual hub portion of the wheel; and a wheel havingsufficient rigidity to resist deforming axial thrusts and whose spokesare nevertheless protected from injury is also provided. The bolts 4extend through Vregistering openings 15 in the tapering sockets 16 inthe hub portion 2 and through registering openings 17 in the taperinglateral extensions 18 in the spoke-carrying portion 3 of the wheel,these angularly spaced exten-- extending between said members and lyingY It will be seen that the series of spokes 6 and 9 extend from theirangularly spaced points of attachment adjacent the left hand edge of thecircumferential member (as seen in Fig. l), in'direetions diagonal tothe wheels radial lines seen in Figure 2), to angularly spaced points ofattachment adjacent alternately opposite edges of the j central membergand that a second: series of j that the spokes of one of said seriesextend thus diagonally oppositely to those of the other series, as seenin Figure 2.

By this arrangement all the spokes may be of approximately the samelength; and

only one row of holes 20 lor 21 need be providcdadjacent either of theopposite` edges of the spoke-carrying elements 3, and only one row ofholes 22er 23 need be provided adjacent either of the opposite edges ofthe circumferential member-all which may be done Without necessitatingthe bending of the spokes Where they cross each other; 'and the angulardisposition of all the holes 22 is approximately the same to accommodatethe diagonal direction the spokes assume, and that the same 1s true asto the holes 23.

This obviates an f resettinffof the machine hl t by which either .row ofholes Q2 or Qd 1s ular embodiment thereof illustrated by the drawings orhereinbefoie described.

I claim:

In a Wheel; a central member; a circumerential member; a series ofspokes extending from angularly spaced points of attachment adjacentoneedge of the circumferential member, in directions diagonal to then'heels radial lines, to angularly spaced points of attachment adjacentalternately opposite edges of the central memlwr; and a second series ofspokes extending, from angularly spaced points of attachment adjacentthe opposite edge of the circumferential member, in directions diagonalto the Wheels radial lilies, to angularly spaced points of Vattachmentadjacent alternately opposite edges ofthe central member; the

.spokes of one serlesfextending thus diagonally oppositely to those ofthe other series. ln testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand atGrand Rapids, Michigan, this 20th day of August, 1921,.

MORTON VAN METER.

